Chapter 9 - Black Taisui

“Hmph, it’s good stuff. Taisui, Black Taisui.” Dan Yangzi’s icy-cold voice reverberated in the small Preparation Room.

Li Huowang tilted his head slightly before once again glancing at the disgusting object placed in Dan Yangzi’s hand.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was quite similar to the thing inside the black cauldron. No, the thing in Dan Yangzi's hand was definitely the same man-eating creature!

This thing is... a Black Taisui? Is he planning to use this thing to refine these pills? Such a strange taste.

With a flick of Dan Yangzi's wrist, the squirming Black Taisui flew through the air in an arc before landing directly on Li Huowang’s foot.

The sticky and soft texture sent shivers down Li Huowang's spine, and his legs involuntarily trembled as he backed away.

Li Huowang stared at the dust-covered Black Taisui that sat on the floor before looking toward Dan Yangzi in confusion; he could not understand what all this was supposed to mean.

“It’s a reward for you. Pick it up and swallow it. You were just a guiding drug ingredient before, but you can’t be so careless anymore; after all, you’re my disciple now. Swallowing it can help suppress your hysteria.”

Li Huowang could not understand what he was saying, and he didn't want to understand it either. His young face turned pale, and he kept backing away, shouting, "I won't eat it! I'm not sick!"

"You won't eat it? Hmph, that's not your choice. Changming, Changren."

Dan Yangzi lifted his chin slightly, and then two Taoists with swords on their backs swiftly approached Li Huowang, each grabbing one of his arms.

Dan Yangzi then gestured with his right hand. The Black Taisui, which had been squirming toward a corner of the room, flew straight into his hand.

As Dan Yangzi started approaching Li Huowang with that nauseating thing, his body began to tremble uncontrollably. An icy coldness permeated his entire body from the inside out.

He instinctively wanted to struggle and escape, but the hands of the two seniors were clamped down on his shoulders firmly like iron chains.

Fortunately, he had one last resort. With rapid breaths, his chest heaved intensely. In his trepidation, he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, using all his strength to curl his thoughts and physical body inward.

"Huowang? Huowang! What happened?? Are you in pain?"

At that moment, Yang Na's gentle voice melodiously floated to Li Huowang's ears.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a girl in a high-necked white sweater before him. Overwhelmed with emotions, he rushed toward her and hugged her tightly, almost as if grasping onto his lifeline.

The young girl’s face blushed slightly. She struggled to escape his grasp as she spoke softly, “Huowang, Huowang, let go of me. There are others watching us."

Li Huowang looked up and saw his mother standing beside the attending physician, smiling at them. "Oh my, my son is quite amazing."

Li Huowang felt a gradual sense of calm chasing away the terror in his heart as he looked at the clean and tidy hospital ward, the bright sunshine outside the window, and his beloved family.

The attending physician adjusted his glasses, frowning as he approached Li Huowang. “Little Li, just what did you see in your hallucination? Your emotional fluctuations have been quite intense lately. What's been going on? Have you been following my instructions?"

Li Huowang's heart skipped a beat as he thought about what he had just experienced. He anxiously asked, "Doctor, is there any medications that can temporarily suppress these hallucinations? I really can't take it anymore; I need a break."

"Alright, I'll prescribe you with some antipsychotic medications. But Little Li, medications are only an adjunct. If you want to completely get rid of the hallucinations, you will still need to follow my instructions," the doctor said as he wrote the prescription on his tablet.

Li Huowang directly rushed in when he saw the nurse deliver the blue capsules. He didn’t even bother to drink any water, directly placing them into his mouth.

For now, he did not want to bother with the Master and his pills, and just wanted some peace and quiet. The earlier scene had really frightened him quite badly.

The capsules were sticky and grainy, which made them rather nauseating to eat. However he endured his disgust and directly swallowed them.

“Little Li, tell me, just what did you see in your hallucination that scared you so much?"

Li Huowang felt much more relieved after having taken the medications. He smiled and replied, “I didn't encounter anything. It's just that the guy over there was saying strange things. He was saying that his side is reality and this side was the hallucination. Ha... haha..."

As soon as he spoke these words, the surrounding air seemed to quieten, while the vibrant colors in his surroundings became dull and lifeless. Yang Na, his mother, the attending physician, and the nurse all seemed petrified in place.

This sudden change in the surroundings made Li Huowang's body tremble, and his breathing became more and more rapid.

He helplessly looked out the window; the sunny sky had suddenly turned pitch-black. The originally safe and peaceful environment had all but vanished.

Fear seemed to tangibly envelop him, and panic suppressed all his other emotions. Li Huowang instinctively pushed Yang Na toward his mother’s embrace.

But upon contact with his mother, her body exploded as if it was made of bubbles. His mother, the reliable shelter that could protect him from any and all hardship, had also vanished.

“Huowang.”

Li Huowang’s body trembled violently. He turned around only to blankly watch as Yang Na vanished completely right in front of him. His only love had also completely vanished.

At this point, all that Li Huowang cherished in his heart had vanished completely. Only desperation, oppression and agony remained.

The clean walls of the hospital ward around him receded rapidly, almost like a waning tide. He was once again back inside a dusky cavern located within the mountains.

Li Huowang’s eyes were flushed red, and his veins were bulging on his forehead. He wanted to scream and pour out all the despair and suffering in his heart.

However, he couldn’t do it—he couldn’t do it because a Black Taisui had tightly blocked his throat. He couldn’t make any sound, and he had to endure through all the despair and suffering.

Dan Yangzi had both his hands behind his back, as he watched his disciple who was trembling and retching while kneeling on the ground. Then, he shook his head and walked toward the door of the Preparation Room.

“Tsk, you say you don’t suffer from hysteria even when you’re acting like this? Your illness is the most severe in the whole Preparation Room. Do you think that I just randomly picked you to be a guiding drug ingredient? Alright, since the hysteria is now gone, you can work well. Remember, Zephyr Temple doesn’t tolerate any slackers. Come and find me for your medication on the first day of every month.”

After that, the other disciples followed Dan Yangzi and left. Apart from Li Huowang who was on the ground, only the other guiding drug ingredients remained in the Preparation Room.

The guiding drug ingredients, with their strange appearances, some due to congenital and some due to acquired diseases, looked at each other, unsure of what they should do.

Finally, after half an incense stick worth of time had passed, the Black Taisui in Li Huowang’s mouth finally slid down his throat, giving way to his heart-wrenching cries that echoed within the cave.

“Why!! Why did I end up in this cursed place?! Why won’t this disease leave me alone!”